A spectre of justice is haunting Hurston: part two

"I come from the original colonists of Aberdeen before the UEE sold the system and its worlds to corporations. After the environmental destruction performed on Aberdeen by Hurston Dynamics, when the survivors remained in isolated communities underground, I ran away as a child, escaped to Hurston and used fake identities and illegal work to survive in the slums of Lorville. After working for Hurston Dynamics under a fake identity at 17, I fabricated another to join the UEEN and become a Citizen. I used my experience in the Navy to learn about the technology and tactics of the UEE e-warfare and communications capabilities. And I also had experience and skill in manipulating the corporate side when working on Lorville – stealing data, disappearing, getting a new name, etcetera.

After leaving service at 21, I returned to Aberdeen to discover my clan had been discovered and murdered by HD just weeks after I ran away as a child.

My judgements of the UEE and of the corporate state entities of Stanton had been long-established since childhood. However, these were immature in comparison to the technical grasp. How government works, how it can be manipulated, that sort of thing. These were all expanded into adulthood, especially while working on Lorville and during the UEEN service. [With the formation of GoA by myself and Scum] the more strangers we met and helped, the more stuck around and saw our cause as something worth fighting for. Disparate hearts and lonely wanderers who had either felt first-hand the crushing reality of life in the UEE, or saw it from a distance. Both types wanting it gone.

[When GoA was established to address the injustices of corporate persecution of indigenous Aberdeen communities] the survivors were small, scattered communities who luckily had access and the idea to utilise the mines and cave systems [on the moon]. For this reason, they are not a unified people, [but] GoA has done work to remedy this. We regularly provide food, medicine and more to the clans, however they are wary of outsiders and many are unapologetic about attacking anyone they see – not all bother to make a distinction between corporations mining their moon versus a worker. They don't know the difference. GoA tries to build highly secretive networks on Aberdeen among its cooperative clans to provide them the means to survive and fight back as needed.

The more difficult we make it for HD and the UEE to ignore [their issues in maintaining control of planets and moons here], the less able to hold onto their grip of the system they should have. Aberdeen, Hurston, Stanton – then we spread throughout the empire. Levski, Bremen, there are peoples living in caves across the whole of the empire, and once we prove to them that we can fight back, the UEE will have to change, or commit to a civil war while xeno factions outside the empire watch and either support the revolution or take advantage of the UEE giants beginning to stumble."

"I was in one of the first generations of civilians born in Shepard after it opened up to the rest of the Empire. I joined up with the military, marvelled by the hundreds of years of military history while at home. Majority of my time was spent in communications. Helping Marines and combat elements eliminate threats to the UEE. However, I started to piece together a disturbing picture. Rogue elements that were spotted by the big corporations usually had little to no resistance. Although I could never find definitive proof of wrong-doing during my service, those incidents formed the cracks that would eventually break me free from their propaganda.

Due to Castra's connection to Pyro, we would occasionally get reports from Stanton PMCs about high-value targets -- usually described as pirates or smugglers -- and command would always heed those reports. During those operations, a familiar pattern would occur: targets would be located approaching the Nyx Jump Point; forces would briefly engage the targets, with little to no resistance; the ships would be escorted and handed off to whichever Stanton PMC and Klescher representatives [were] waiting at the Pyro-Stanton Jump Point. Procedure dictated that OPCOM wouldn't listen in to any adversary comms, leaving that information for field commanders. The one time I was able to listen in to the "enemy" comms for one of these operations, I realised what was happening. These ships were those fleeing their contracts, or at least this one was. As they identified themselves as former Hurston workers, they pled for safe passage to Nyx, then surrendered as the field commander refused their request. I sadly wasn't prepared to record that transmission...

When I brought it up in the mess, a couple of my mates told me to shut up. As lady-luck decided, my CO would be conveniently behind me as I brought it up. I was then never assigned to those missions again, and my fellow comms operatives refused to speak to me about said missions further. I then had to assume that my military issued mobi was listening to me, as after I asked about said missions, I was assigned a lot more to zero-G cleaning duties.

Since my service awarded me Citizenship, I decided to explore the "western" part of the empire. I visited from Bremen to Terra, making sure to avoid the tourist traps and to mingle with the people. From those wide interactions I saw a pattern, a subjugation of the working classes by corporations. Only local forces – planetary governments or civilian defence groups like the one at Bremen – properly restricted the greed of the corporations, while the UEE aligned itself with corporate interests for the majority of these tales. It wasn't until I made my way to Levski that I pieced it all together.

From Nyx, I signed up for a smuggling crew to rescue Hurston workers. After everything I learned, that damned company always came up in the worst stories. Sadly, the first mission wasn't successful. After we picked up the workers, Hurston Security engaged us. We were able to jump to Aberdeen but they had a Mantis waiting for us there. The smuggling crew had a mole – a complete betrayal from within. During the commotion, none of us noticed that Aberdeen's comms-array was down. A battle broke out as GoA arrived to save us from HurSec. After that, GoA offered to escort us all back to Nyx under their protection. Once there, I worked up the courage to ask to join and have been with them since.

Currently I'm a Chief within the Ghosts, with my main responsibilities being operations and logistics. Occasionally planning internal training simulations and coordinating medium-scale operations with other members of administration. It is challenging at times due to the wide variety of people that we've gathered. Coordinating everyone while aligning with their assets and interests is quite the feat. However, the reward of helping people and working with my community greatly outweighs those struggles.

We are still fixated on Aberdeen, and Hurston as a whole. I hope that in the future, as we grow and make alliances, that we can extend our influence to Levski and Castra. Not only to find more allies, but to help more people break free from their corporate chains. [I support] forming links with the People's Alliance and then us[ing] that to help liberate people from corporate chains together with them – since [People's Alliance] were the first ones to open my eyes, I believe that their ideals and goals align with GoA. Since they publicly need to stay within their space, allying themselves with GoA can allow their resources to be used outside of Nyx against the corporations."

"I had a brief but exciting career in the Navy, lobbing torpedoes across the black. Shortly afterwards I found myself doing the very same thing for microTech, Crusader, ArcCorp... but not Hurston. Something about that whole planetary system didn't sit right with me. An entire habitable planet wrecked for the profit of one megacorporation, a megacity filled with slums next to golden statues of the city's founder, and the massive private prison – Klescher. The whole thing was kind of rotten.

[Now I am] looking forward to melting down all those pretty statues some day. [And overall] I detest the corrupt corporate justice system in Stanton and I wish to see it dismantled. My immediate future goals are to establish a base near Klescher to assist with aiding escaped innocent citizens."

"I was born a second generation immigrant in Lorville after my father left a fading nomadic community and headed to the city for work. He married a scientist, taking her last name as an opportunity to increase chances of employment and worked in administration. After initially failing the entry exam into the UEEN to follow my sisters, I started work with Hurston Security. Throughout my years in HurSec, I witnessed too many brutal injustices and cases of corruption favouring the Hurston Dynamics aristocracy. I was eventually discharged after getting into a drawn-out investigation when I got into a physical altercation with a colleague with a history of abuse of power.

Spent the following years doing occasional personal transport and private security detail between maintaining my mother's old Corsair and caring for my father who had fallen ill. Before my father passed, he told me to use his inheritance and his spark of goodness to make a difference, as my sisters have. My mother showed her support by putting the Corsair in my name. I stayed with my father until the end, and was soon exploring Staton, adopting his moniker. Unfortunately, shortly I came to find that even though the injustices faced at home were some of the most inhumane in the system, this imbalance of power existed everywhere.

"The most comparable experience I had was my first visit to Area 18, which to me only looked [like] Lorville but with more showmanship. The mass commercialism only really covered up the very familliar tone of poverty in the underbelly of the city. 'It just goes to show much customers are willing to tolerate when there's a lot of neon', I thought to myself."

"For me, [GoA] is a found purpose. Exploring this 'verse on your own is exciting, but there's nothing lonelier than floating in infinity without people you hold close. Tribes are built in the absence of shared struggle, and when you find people who struggle against the same thing, there's no challenge and all reward. The only challenges are the ones you give yourself to get better at what you do! And we do that together when you're with us."

"[I come from] an average family who lived on Davian II, a planet called Cestulus. My hometown, New Arden, was largely known for trading and shipping, which is how my parents made their living. Through a string of good luck, calculated trade deals, and determination, they finally owned a Freelancer MAX. Owning one’s own ship, free and clear, was not an easy feat, something especially abnormal for regular citizens of Cestulus. As Cestulus’ economy continued to decline, many of my friends moved away, their parents leaving the planet in search of better lives. Those who did stay were relegated to illicit activities, primarily "disposal" services for criminal networks.

When my closest childhood friend was killed in a disposal mission gone wrong, I promised to make an honest life for myself. Commissioning into the UEE military as an anti-terrorism officer, I finally left Cestulus to become a small cog in a very large machine. While attached to squadrons specifically created to combat outlaw gangs and terror groups, I [was said to have excelled] at personnel management and communications. My squadron was credited with multiple high-visibility missions, painting the UEE in an admirable light. I was affecting real change, for good, or so I thought. The turning point for me was during a special operations mission gone awry.

I had thought that we were out to dismantle terrorist cells, ones who were out to destroy our ways of life. [There was a Caterpillar heading to Levski that was designated as a] special target for us, command saying that there were some radical dissenters on board carrying destructive weapons. We were to destroy everything on board and leave no trace of the Caterpillar. We honestly shouldn’t have boarded it, but we did. We found crates of people and general welfare stuffs -- food, medicine, etcetera. Yeah, there were some boxes of small arms, but far from anything devastating. My partners opened boxes and just fired into them, knowing there were civilians inside. I later learned that they had seen some events -- maltreatment of workers, HD officials committing unspeakable crimes towards others, just general things that could have brought heavy shame to the HD family conglomerate and information that would have strengthened the resolve of the insurrection. The killing of civilians, as it turned out, was not a once-off thing, this type of order was common. Additionally, as Levski is a barren rock, food, water, and medicine was incredibly important to them; weakening Levski was a top priority to my sector of the UEEN. This was inhumane at the least, and downright sadistic at worst.

[In GoA] I want to see more people who are looking to make a difference in the well-being of others. People who want a community where they can be safe, heard and seen. In turn, we will give them just that, while also giving them the sense of purpose of doing that same thing for others. I'm personally, really proud of the group we have facilitated here. It feels really great when people tell us that they actually feel at home here, safe and seen. That's kinda the thing that keeps me in this. They are all really great people, and Im happy to have them around."

"I served in UEE Navy for ten years as an engineer, service ended ten years ago. Signed on with Crusader and participated in their humanitarian efforts for a number of years, even went to flight school under them. Came to Stanton ten years ago because Crusader was dishing out bonuses to beef up their security forces in the system through their Crusader Cares initiative. Parted ways with Crusader a little over a year ago.

Then I encountered Ghost about seven months ago. I was doing some medical rescues and at some point was invited to a flight slash combat training session the were having. My memory is fuzzy on the specific details.

[Here in the org] everyone takes care of each other, it's real nice to have back up when it's needed, or advice about life. Everyone is treated with respect."

"I was born and raised on ArcCorp by parents dedicated to the corporate grind. So rather raised primarily by siblings, who kept me off the streets and forced me to go through my Equivalency and apply for Citizenship. With no desire to enter the corporate arena just to sit behind a desk, and a friend from Equivalency prep starting a contract with BlacJac Security, I followed suit. Picked up the callsign Cernunnos during a joint op with microTech security forces in the deep woods tracking down some low grade pirates.

Eventually, growing tired of merc life, I applied to work in the medical rescue field, where I served as a squad leader and trainer for new recruits. Thanks to a level head, sharp eyes, and plenty of combat experience, I excelled at it, and yet the boredom started to set in again. At the end of the day, all I was working for was a paycheck. Just traded a desk chair for a dropseat.

Working out of Everus Harbor, I ran into a former Medrunner who’d become a friend and left for new horizons. While catching up, this friend mentioned he’d hooked up with a new outfit. One that fought for a reason, and one where you could make good money for an honest day’s work. A few operations and interviews later, and I was reborn in the dust of Aberdeen as a Ghost. For now at least.

While I probably wouldn’t say I'm dedicated to the cause of emancipation for the Hurston worker, I spent a lotta time operating out of Hurston space and have seen the scars left by the restrictive power structure on those workers firsthand. So kicking Hurston Security ass is a fun time. More than personal belief in the cause though, I think I believe in the GoA leadership. I admire the passion and dedication that I see in the org. I'm happy to lend a hand to help someone who really cares about something and believes they’re doing right."

"I'm still trying to find my thing in the 'verse. I had just started my journey when I came across GoA, who really helped me get oriented. Coming up on Area 18, I was given my dad's ol' reliable Cutter. Faced many struggles when on the come-up, and decided to make it my goal to get loads and loads of credits, to be able to help my friends and those who are new to the 'verse, so they don't have to live through what I did.

I came across my first friend in the 'verse only a month into my journey, where I met ShadowGazer -- then known as Walker, which I still tend to call him to this day. Walker was also pretty new to the 'verse, and so we learned things together. Walker was in the GoA, and was a big fan of cargo hauling. He singlehandedly introduced cargo hauling in the 'verse to me. Back to the GoA, Walker eventually convinced me to join the community, where I would eventually apply and read the Dissenter's Handbook, which really gave me an idea for the standards that the GoA have had in place. This all happened in the first weeks of 2953.

When it comes to Aberdeen, and it's people, if there is injustice, and it is something that is important to me, or the org, I'll be there and will fight for it until the last breath. Ultimately, though, the org, it's people, and it's operations are what are first on my list. Now, if saving the people of Aberdeen and fighting big corporations is a part of that, then that's priority one, but if that is put on the back burner for something else, I will redirect my efforts towards that 'something else'."

"I went into the corporate sector after my time in the Navy. But after seeing how some corporations treat people... Well, let's just say I didn't leave on the best of terms with my former employer.

With GoA, I've fallen into a bit of a quartermaster role, but tend to do a bit of everything. Tend to fly either a 315p or a 600i most often -- the 315 being black, and the 600i being a very dark grey.

I'm not native to Stanton, so have no dog in the Aberdeen-Hurston fight. However I do sympathise with [the GoA] cause."

"Born to a pair of freelance box haulin' parents. Levski was a second home for me growing up; the Freelancer my parents used for most of the hauls was the first. I was in my late teens when my parents got caught up in a transportation incident on Hurston. Media called it an accident, but rumours spread that a few mid-level members of the United Workers of Hurston had been killed in it. The accident left my parents maimed, unable to continue working.

[Then I was] involved with a prison breakout just after having made contact with GoA. Several GoA members had just gone to Klescher on a trivial offence; I assisted with the rescue effort by picking them up, then clearing their crime stats.

[In the org] we're a bunch of rebels at heart. We're no loosely-knit org, either, growing members for the sake of members without finding a common core set of values. From what I've seen the Ghosts are good people. They care about each other and are democratic about how they handle large decisions. 'A rising tide raises all boats, not just the yachts', if you will."

"I grew up on a small moon called Daymar. The surrounding areas were once the home to small mining communities, and there was a small space station near Daymar called the Green Imperial Housing Exchange. This was the main trading port for bringing in basic provisions and for selling raw ore from the mining operations, and it contained cheap housing for traveling laborers or families looking for work.

The mining industry did not last long around Crusader, as the mines quickly ran dry. As with most impoverished communities, many people resorted to less honest work just to get by, and it was not long before criminals and gangs began to move in and take hold of the area. My father frequently ran cargo for the Nine Tails, but he never knew what he was hauling, and he never asked.

When I was about 16, my father was killed when he got caught up in some questionable dealings with some of his unsavoury business partners. A deal went south and my father was shot in the back as he tried to run away.

I was not a bad guy, and never particularly wanted to hurt anyone, but [after that incident] I would take whatever work I could good get, either ethical or less than ethical. Fortunately, I was clever and charming, and I could talk myself out of almost any ugly situation when it went south.

[At GoA the three of us with the Commander role -- Ghost, Scum and myself --] have different giftings and skillsets that are useful in different ways. I would say that we each bring our own unique experiences to the table and it mostly plays out naturally within the orgs internal operations. Mission ops are a little different, in that we typically take on similar roles to accomplish a specific task."